John Gaiserich talks to Lauren Sarner about why we're all so fascinated with apoca novels these days...

nGaiserich talks to Lauren Sarner about

John talks about his 2015 novel "The Prelapsarians" -- an action adventure in a dystopian setting -- and why we're so fascinated by post-apoca novels these days. Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, John Gaiserich began writing fiction in 2009.

 

NOTE: ''The Prelapsarians'' was published in 2015.

 

THE STORY? 25  years after a major natural disaster and the world war that ensued, the scattered, desperate remnants of the human race are in a desperate struggle for survival and freedom from the oppression of a group of self-declared tyrants who control the supply of a drug necessary for survival.  In a northern region of Russia, a band of retired mercenaries joins forces with a young, idealistic smuggler to bring relief to the needy, encountering fierce combat and interpersonal struggles along the way.

All the while, one soldier must use this opportunity to confront ghosts from his past that haunt him, to seek redemption in a world overcome with decay, and to give purpose to a life that he suddenly realizes is one of failure.

 

  

• April 14,  2016

• LAUREN WRITES:

In  this section of the Web titled Asking The Prophet, we probe the brains of sci-fi, cli-fi, fantasy, and speculative fiction writers. This week, we spoke with John Gaiserich about post-apocalyptic wastelands, Russian film, and how the two are related.

EXCERPT:



Why do you think post-apocalyptic fiction is having such a surge in popularity now?

I think it’s just the world we live in. We just had the terrorist attacks in Brussels. It’s a pretty messed up world, and with the combination of that and climate change and all these factors that are hanging over our society, it’s kind of like we’re creating our own downfall here. I just think it’s the reader’s way of coping with reality. It’s my way of coping with it. Like I said, it’s easy when you’re me living in a pretty comfortable apartment and having all you need. But if you’re a refugee in Greece or France and you’re freezing to death in a tent colony or having it burned down and being directed to a shipping container, you’re probably thinking, “well, that’s part of the course.” So I think it’s our way of coping with the less than pleasant nature of the reality outside our window.